1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method of processing an image in a thin-client (TC) environment and an apparatus and method of receiving the processed image.
2. Description of the Related Art
An international market research institute announced that the computing environment centered on personal computers (PCs) would change to be centered on non-PC appliances, i.e., information appliances, by 2004. It is estimated that the number of information terminals will increase from 10 million to 47 million within 3 years. The computing environment has followed the trend of conforming to a TC. A TC is a new concept of information terminal that is light and thin and is expected to replace the large and heavy PCs now occupying working space in an office. The size of a TC is small, yet does not bring discomfort to a user when using the keyboard, and the shape of a TC varies according to manufacturers.
TC computing changes the fundamental operating mode of a PC as well as the appearance of a PC. TC computing is referred to as “server-based computing,” in which “server-based” means that all appliances are deposited in a server computer (a server) as money is deposited in a bank. Accordingly, client computers (clients) do not need a large memory or information storage (e.g., hard disc capacity). Clients only need to access a server via a network when they need programs. In this situation, clients do not download the software from the server, but instead the server executes the program, and clients receive only a display value.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a general computer system processing an image, which includes a PC 100, which can also be designated as a server depending on application, a graphic card 100-1 provided within the PC 100, and a monitor 101. Generally, the PC or server 100 uses the graphic card 100-1 for a local user's or administrator's graphic processing. When a picture is drawn using graphics (i.e., an image is to be displayed on the monitor 101), such display images are rendered to an independent frame buffer (not shown) within the graphic card 100-1 by a graphic engine (not shown) within the graphic card 100-1 and are then periodically read from the frame buffer to be transmitted to the monitor 101.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a conventional system processing an image according to a TC environment. The conventional apparatus includes a TC server 200, a system memory 200-1 provided within the TC server 200, a TC terminal 201, and a communication network 202. In FIG. 2, a graphic card (not shown) for local users or administrators exists in each server 200 and clients 201, but a special graphic card for remote TC 203 users does not exist. Accordingly, the system memory 200-1 is used as a virtual frame buffer. Since the TC server 200 does not have a hardware-based graphic accelerator for the TC terminal 203, direct image rendering to the system memory 200-1 is performed via software. A rendered signal is then encoded and is then transmitted to the TC terminal 203 through the communication network 202 using a TC protocol or other known protocols.
Since the TC server 200 maintains the virtual frame buffer in the system memory 200-1 for TC users and renders a graphic signal via software, more TC server 200 resources are used as the number of TC users increases. In particular, when a moving picture is reproduced, the consumption of resources by the TC server 200 rapidly increases because the TC server 200 requires high computing power when decoding, scaling, filtering, and transforming color coordinates with respect to the moving picture via software. Accordingly, the TC server 200 can easily significantly degrade processing performance in a TC network environment, and, in particular, when high graphics/image processing is requested by TCs as in case of moving pictures.